Wells Fargo Loses Reps to Kestra

Wells Fargo Advisors continues having trouble holding on to its representatives, most recently losing a team to Kestra Private Wealth Services, an RIA subsidiary of Kestra Financial, Kestra says in a press release.

St. Louis-based Undivided Wealth Management includes financial advisors Gary Baker and Dan Kraus as well as client services director Kim Peaker, Kestra says. The team collectively manages $186 million, according to the press release. Baker has been in the industry since 1999 and with Wells Fargo since 2009, according to his BrokerCheckprofile.

Kraus began his career in the industry at Morgan Stanley but switched to Wells Fargo in 2009, according to his BrokerCheck profile.

Peaker began her career with Wells Fargo predecessor A.G. Edwards in 2007, according to BrokerCheck.

“While the path to independence is not easy, it’s well worth it and we’re certain it will offer us the opportunity to serve our clients at a higher and more personalized level,” Baker says in a press release.

Wells Fargo representatives have been jumping ship almost nonstop ever since a fake account scandal shook its parent company’s retail banking unit in 2016. And regulators began investigating Wells Fargo’s wealth management units directly earlier this year in connection to their sales practices. Earlier this month, Kestra picked up a $300 million team from Wells Fargo Advisors.

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The exodus from Wells has slowed, according to some reports. Apparently only 24 advisors left Wells Fargo in the first quarter of 2018, compared to 37 who left in the first quarter last year. Nonetheless, in recent weeks the company lost advisors to Raymond James, Janney Montgomery Scott, UBS, RBC Wealth Management and other brokerages.